Although Tilly looked cute and airheaded, her intelligence was perfectly normal. After a while, she finally wrapped her head around it.
There was no way to talk about compensation. It was true that she herself was valuable, and she had to repay the debt of saving her life.
She raised her head and looked earnestly at the Red Dragon.
"Lord Dragon, I'll make up the money to you. My family has an artwork passed down from the Elven Dynasty. It's very valuable. Once I return, I'll have my father deliver it to you."
"Ha! Are you fooling me?! How do I know whether you'll keep your promise?! And can you guarantee that what your father brings will be compensation rather than an army?!"
"He won't! I can swear in the name of the gods!" Tilly panicked and raised one hand, about to swear an oath.
"Shut up!" Jose flicked his claw, sweeping down the Elven Maiden's raised hand with one finger.
Naturally, he held back. Otherwise, with the strength of a Red Dragon, one finger would have been enough to break the Elven Maiden's bamboo-thin arm.
He no longer wanted to make idle conversation with the Elven Maiden. "An oath is no good. Compensation is no good either. In any case, you'll work for me to repay your debt! You are not allowed to leave!"
With her freedom taken away, Tilly was so anxious she was nearly crying. She stamped her feet repeatedly. "You! You! How can you be so unreasonable?!"
"Ha! You're talking reason with me?!" Jose's voice became low and hoarse. Tilting his head, he brought his draconic face close to the Elven Maiden, narrowing his eyes as killing intent filled his lava-like pupils.
Red Dragons were already the strongest and most robust breed among the Five-Colored Evil Dragons. Their towering, muscular bodies had stone-like muscles sharply defined, while the crowns of horns atop their heads resembled branching thorns. Combined with the Red Dragon race's fearsome reputation, Jose hardly needed to pretend to be vicious. He was naturally intimidating.
His voice drifted like a summons from death. "I'm an evil dragon, you know."
"Ah!"
The Elven Maiden's face filled with terror. She tried to step back quickly, but the moment she lifted her foot, she bumped into a wooden crate behind her, tripped, and fell into the box with a cry.
Seeing the silent tears rolling down the Elven Maiden's face, Jose withdrew his head in boredom.
How dull. She had been scared to tears so easily.
"Anyway, you cannot leave. Also, to prevent you from secretly running away, you must sign a magical contract with me."
"I... I won't sign it!" Tilly stubbornly turned her head away.
Oh? She had a temper too.
But Jose had no intention of indulging her. He threatened viciously, "If you don't sign it, I'll eat you!"
To make his threat more convincing—and satisfy his own wicked urge to tease her—he extended his long, slender tongue and slid its tip across the Elven Maiden's soft, pale cheek.
"Waaah!"
The Elven Maiden covered her face with one hand and burst into tears. Through the gaps between her fingers, her formerly pale cheek could be seen turning red—but not from embarrassment.
A dragon's tongue had a surface structure similar to a cat's tongue, covered in pink fleshy barbs. Being licked by a dragon's tongue was no different from being scraped by sandpaper.
"Waaah!"
Her loud crying echoed through the dragon's lair while Jose simply watched her in silence.
His demand that the elf work for him for a hundred years was not merely a fit of sadistic amusement. She was a Druid apprentice who had received formal Druid education, and her understanding of animals and plants surpassed even his own, despite all the vast pulp fiction knowledge from his previous life.
With her assistance, the difficulty of developing agriculture and animal husbandry would drop by several levels.
After a long while, Tilly noticed that the surroundings had become abnormally quiet. She turned to look at the Red Dragon and found him staring coldly at her. She shuddered, and her crying stopped immediately.
"Have you decided? Will you work for me for a hundred years, or choose to be eaten by me?" The Red Dragon's voice was utterly emotionless. Tilly understood that she had to make a choice quickly.
Between losing her life forever and temporarily sacrificing her freedom, she chose the latter.
Elves were long-lived. A hundred years was roughly one-tenth of their lifespan—not too much, but certainly not little either.
Her gaze darted around as she asked timidly, "Lord... Lord Dragon, could it be less?"
"You dare bargain with me?!" Jose bared his fangs, though inwardly he relaxed. Bargaining meant that the Elven Maiden had accepted the proposal of working off her debt.
He put on an annoyed expression. "Fine. How much less?"
Tilly was delighted, then lowered her head with a conflicted expression. She wanted to bargain harder, but feared angering the Red Dragon. Yet if she asked for too little, she would be the one losing out.
Come on! You're the bravest! Never submit to the evil dragon's tyranny!
She gathered her courage and held out one index finger. Halfway through, she shakily raised a middle finger as well, forming a V-sign. "Ten years... no! Twenty years!"
Because of Jin Ke La, Jose grew far faster than an ordinary dragon. He only needed seventy years to reach adulthood, and an adult Red Dragon would not die unless he went looking for trouble. Therefore, his psychological expectation had been to restrict the Elven Maiden for seventy years. He had said one hundred years only to leave the little elf room to bargain.
She had not even reached his bottom line. This little elf was not ruthless enough at haggling!
He secretly rejoiced, but his face wore an expression of difficulty.
Under Tilly's anxious gaze, Jose frowned and "pondered" for a long time before saying in a tone as though he had suffered a tremendous loss, "Fine. Eighty years it is."
Heh!
She had made a profit!
If the situation had been different, Tilly would have wanted to cheer and dance with joy.
The Red Dragon did not seem as overbearing as the rumors claimed. Not only had he not eaten her, but he was so easy to negotiate with. He had even forgiven twenty years of her debt. She secretly rejoiced.
Soon afterward, the two signed a contract backed by the binding power of the gods.
As for why it was a divine oath contract rather than a Familiar Contract, first, the Elven Maiden would never agree to it; second, Jose did not believe a mere Druid apprentice was qualified to become his familiar. If the little elf displayed any extraordinary talent during the contract period, it would not be too late to take her as a familiar then.
After having Ergou take the Elven Maiden around to familiarize herself with the surroundings, Jose lay alone in the dragon's lair, deep in thought.
Taking in an Elf Druid apprentice—he had no idea whether it would bring fortune or disaster.
Before long, he figured it out.
When soldiers came, generals would block them; when water came, earth would dam it. He only needed to calmly do what he could, and leave the rest to fate.
With nothing to do and no desire to sleep, Jose observed his familiars through the Familiar Contract.
The Boarman merchant—Hulk Stonefang—unloaded grain from his wheelbarrow and loaded it with metal ingots. He was now preparing to return to the grasslands.
Sorda Bloodtooth was training soldiers with a whip. Since word spread that they would go to war with the Moss Hide Gnoll Tribe in winter, the soldiers had trained with increasing fervor. That was the power of hatred.
Having lived in the same region for centuries, Gnolls and Kobolds had clashed countless times, both large and small. Their hatred had accumulated over time and long since sunk deep into their hearts.
Luna Bloodfeather was lying in her nest, looking into a mirror. There was even a flower arrangement beside her.
Hmm... she had really started thinking of herself as an elf.
Hasa Bloodclaw returned from hunting.
Good lord! He had actually caught a moose! (Moose are large animals, bigger than cattle.)
Huh? He was even thinking of presenting it to me to make me happy.
Not bad. This kid had potential.
Jose was pleased and decided to properly cultivate this newly acquired familiar.
He checked the other Kobold chieftains as well. The other chieftains were all busy with routine matters, such as making little Kobolds.
There was one last familiar—Ergou.
Huh?
Jose discovered that Ergou was very angry and was leading the Elven Maiden toward the dragon's lair.
What was going on? Hadn't he told him to find the little elf a tent?
Before long, Ergou led Tilly into the dragon's lair.
"Master! This elf is too picky! She actually thinks our tents are dirty!"
Beside him, Tilly puffed out her cheeks and retorted indignantly, "Th-they are!"
Jose raised an eyebrow. Regarding whether Kobold tents were dirty, he agreed more with the little elf's opinion: grease stains, dust... they had never been washed.
"Fine. Leave her to me, Ergou. You may go."
Jose discussed it with Tilly, then found some vine seeds and planted them along the edge of the dragon's lair. Using Druid secret arts to accelerate their growth, they made a small vine house.
PS: I recommend a friend's book: "The Man Behind the Empress."
Wu Qiong, a newcomer to the workplace in a modern city.
Wu Zhi, the newly enthroned Empress of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
After the workplace man and the Empress from two different time periods began swapping bodies every other day.
"You were amazing yesterday. Tonight... tonight, are you free?"
Wu Qiong stared blankly at the beautiful woman before him, who bit her lip and blushed faintly.
Wu Zhi! What did you do with my body?!
"Your Majesty! Although your appearance when you angrily rebuked the Xiongnu envoy has earned our admiration, but... but women bring ruin to a nation!"
Wu Zhi also stared blankly at the ministers kneeling all over the floor before her.
Wu Qiong! What did you do with my body?!
This book is also known as "What Did You Do with My Body?", "Your Workplace—No, Your Empire," "I Really Didn't Flirt with You," and "Tie Up the Dog and Starve It to Death."
Before you continue